In this episode of the AEC Business Podcast, we continue our series on how agentic AI will change the industry. My guest is Kalle Valkama, AI Venture Lead at A.Engineer. Kalle is a Finnish tech entrepreneur based in Sweden, with nearly twenty years of experience in SaaS and online video businesses. His work as an advisor to Tyréns, the foundation-owned engineering consultancy, led him to found A.Engineer.
Verification before generation
A.Engineer is an agentic design delivery platform. Kalle explains that as AI increasingly generates designs, the bottleneck shifts to verification and quality control. The team therefore spent its first year building a verification layer that lets engineers agentify calculation checks across disciplines, from geotechnical to structural and MEP engineering. The goal is that engineers can sign off on AI-generated design output as they would their own work.
New tools for early design and reporting
After positive feedback from enterprise customers, A.Engineer has shifted its focus to generation. Its new optioneering app produces design options for a building, such as a residential block, in a few hours, complete with a 3D model.
Users can connect calculation tools to check volumes, massing, CO2, and costs early in the process. The Infinite Report gathers all design outputs into a shared agentic space that also integrates with other systems.
Business models and accountability
Kalle argues that design should be priced by output, regardless of whether humans, agents, or both produce it.
A.Engineer works directly with developers and public clients, who often value faster delivery more than lower fees. He sees a shortage of engineers and global market growth as opportunities for firms that adopt AI early. Accountability always remains with people, and he stresses that young engineers must first master the fundamentals so they can judge what AI produces.
What to do tomorrow
For design firm owners who have not yet committed to AI, Kalle suggests a thought experiment. Assume the artificial engineer already exists and ask how you would structure your company, how many agents and humans you would hire, and how you would manage your project data. Then apply that thinking to your next project.
A.Engineer will hold a launch webinar on Monday, 16 November. More information is available at a.engineer.
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